Trump Promised Free Food For Everyone At A Restaurant, Then Skipped The Bill

On Tuesday, Donald Trump visited Versailles in Miami, the famous Cuban restaurant many politicians stop at when they're in the area. Despite his recent legal woes, Trump stopped in at the famed eatery to speak with his voter base. 

As is often the case with Trump, many of his fans and supporters were already at the restaurant upon his arrival, packed into the restaurant waiting for a glimpse of him. Clearly moved by the support, he announced "Food for everyone!" to a round of applause. Many started singing "Happy birthday" to him, as the former president's birthday was the following day, and Trump remarked that they were "a great group of people."

However, the former president is being accused of skipping out on his promise of free lunch. According to an anonymous source, via Miami New Times, Trump left the Miami establishment without buying everyone's food. In fact, Trump barely stayed at the restaurant more than a few minutes.

According to the Miami New Times, Donald Trump only stayed at Versailles for around 10 minutes before leaving. According to the New York Post, a Trump spokesperson said that the attendees opted to follow the former president outside instead of placing orders. They said, "At the end of President Trump's visit he offered to buy food for the group of attendees inside the restaurant, but when President Trump left, the attendees followed him outside and did not place orders themselves." 

Additionally, according to the spokesperson, Trump's staff picked up the tab for orders they made, so Trump's team didn't leave without paying their bill. When asked to comment on Trump's visit by Newsweek, an employee from the restaurant responded, "Sorry, I don't know about that." The New York Times also reported that Trump opted for McDonald's instead before getting on the plane back to New Jersey. This isn't surprising, given his well-known love of the restaurant includes Trump claiming to know the McDonald's menu better than the workers. 

While in office, Donald Trump was known as the First Fan of Fast Food (well, at least that's what we alliteration addicts always called him). He did have quite a fondness for burgers and fries, and Mickey D's was one of his go-to's for on-the-go dining. On one occasion when he was visiting Scotland, the future former POTUS was en route to the airport and feeling a little peckish. In a generous mood, he had his convoy of limos swing through a McDonald's drive-thru to buy enough cheeseburgers and Cokes to feed the entire entourage of 15 or so.

Well, here comes the twist in the tale: Trump forgot his wallet, as some rich folks are wont to do, so he hit up his bodyguard for the £95 he needed (which amounted to approximately $130 at 2008 exchange rates). While the billionaire swore to repay the man earning just $32k per year, according to Kevin McKay, Trump never made good on his word. Instead, a few years later McKay got to hear Trump's then-famous catchphrase: "You're fired!" Unfortunately for him, he was not watching an episode of "The Apprentice" at the time. He did, however, get to tell his story to the Daily Mail in 2021, granting this British tabloid an exclusive interview in which he revealed to the world that he's still waiting on that $130.

Back in 2007 (a year before the wallet-forgetting incident, should you be keeping track), a rumor was going around that Donald Trump had left a $10,000 tip on an $82.27 bill at a restaurant in California. Rumors of his generosity, however, were greatly exaggerated. In fact, the real estate tycoon-turned-reality TV star himself denied that he had ever left such a tip, even claiming that the restaurant had spread the rumor as a ridiculous publicity stunt.

As it turns out, Trump's tipping habits may tilt towards the opposite end of the generosity scale. As one former server at a Manhattan eatery called Jim McMullen's told BuzzFeed, they'd had to wait on the Trump family even though the restaurant had closed for the night. Donald, Ivana, their kids, and a few others ordered about $1,300 worth of after-hours eats, although the restaurant owner wound up comping the food. Still, the server had every right to expect a generous tip. You know what they got? A whopping $20. Even by '80s standards, this was nothing to get worked up about, plus it's only about 1.5% of the bill (uncool in any era). And speaking of stiffing the working stiffs, one of the last pieces of legislation Trump pushed through before leaving the Oval Office allowed restaurant owners to use server tips to compensate kitchen workers. The following year, though, the Department of Labor rescinded this lame duck (and just plain lame) law.